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On 15/7/20 the organisers of the Great North Run announced that this year’s run has been cancelled because of the COVID19 pandemic.
Use I now have a guaranteed place in next year’s race. In order to continue to increase my fitness I need a target to aim for. I have therefore decided that I will run 13.1 miles on 13 September 2020, the day that the Great North Run was to have been run.
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I started running in 1982. I was aged 26 and decided to run a marathon. I was quite fit through competing in other sports and it took me three months to get fit enough to complete the Mersey Marathon. Over the next four years I completed 10 marathons and 23 half marathons. After completing the London Marathon in 1986 I decided to stop running, training was taking up too much time and I had a growing family.
In 2002 I decided to start training for another marathon but now, much older, it took four years to get fit enough. At 4hr. 3min., my time for the 2006 London Marathon was 18 minutes slower than it had been 20 years earlier. During the next seven years, I completed the London Marathon another twice, the Liverpool Marathon twice, and the Athens Marathon. I also completed the Great North Run in 2010 and 2011.
The Liverpool Marathon in 2014 turned out to be my last. After about 12 miles I started to feel a pull in my groin. I continued. The pain wasn’t too bad. When you are training, listen to your body. In a race tell you body to shut up. This was my 15th marathon and I had always finished. I wasn’t going to give up this time.
And so started five years of injuries. After the Marathon I did my usual rest for a week followed by short slow runs but the pain in my groin came back. I had a rest for two weeks and started back training. The pain was back so I had a longer rest and then an even longer rest. I finally went to a sports physiotherapist. She diagnosed my problem was my running style. I was over-striding. When I was younger my body could accommodate the over-striding. Now that I was getting older I would have to change my running style.
The new running style used different muscles. It took some time to adapt to running this way. My hamstring and glutes certainly felt the difference. It took a few months to be able to run just a few miles. Then came a pulled calf muscle so it was back to resting. The next few years I seemed to be alternating between groin problems and calf problems.
I eventually got to the point where I could run a few miles without any problems. Then in February 2019 I was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat. Almost a year later, on the 29th of January 2020, I was admitted to hospital to have an ablation procedure to correct the irregular heartbeat. An ablation procedure is where they kill some of the cells inside the heart.
Two weeks after I had the procedure I was informed that I had a place in the Great North Run. I had applied to get a place every year since 2011 but was unsuccessful on each occasion.
On 19 February I was informed by my doctor that I could are start training but it had to be slow and easy at first.
6 June. After a week of rest following a foot problem, I am back in training. I decided to ease back in. Two days of three miles and two days of 1 hr. on alternate days. On the days when I ran for an hour I covered about 5.25 miles. Everything felt ok. This week I shall go back to the the five days of one hour. If all goes well, the following week I shall start to increase the time again. My resting heart rate has started to creep back up. Most days it has been 67 beats per minute but one day it was 68.
13 June. It has been a good week this week. Out 5 times. 3 one hour sessions and 2 one hour 10 minute sessions. On 1 of the one hour sessions I managed to cover 5.4 miles. On the one hour 10 minute sessions I managed just over 6 miles, so getting close to half of the Great North Run distance. Thirteen weeks left to the Great North Run. My resting heart rate has been lower this week, mostly 65 and 66 but one day was 63 beats per minute. Finally reached my target of 78kg. My next target is 75kg.
15 June. The organisers of the Great North Run announced that this year’s run has been cancelled because of the COVID19 pandemic. I have a guaranteed place in next year’s race. In order to continue to increase my fitness I need a target to aim for. I have therefore decided that I will run 13.1 miles on 13 September 2020, the day that the Great North Run was to have been run.
20 June. Family birthdays, and severe downpours with lightning meant that I only managed to get out 3 times this week. Each of the sessions was one hour long but I did manage to reach 5.5 miles on one occasion. My resting heart rate has consistently been 66 beats per minute. Because of the party food and the lack of running, my weight has increased slightly.
27 June. This week there have been very hot temperatures and very heavy downpours but I have still managed to get out most days. I managed to cover 5.6 miles in one hour and 6.48 miles in 1 hour 10 minutes. As this was very close to half of the Great North Run distance, I decided to run 7 miles a couple of days later. It took 1hr. 21 minutes. The extra half mile took 10 minutes longer but it was a hot day. The last mile was slow and quite painful. My resting heart rate has been 64 beats per minute most days.
Have you had the cardiac ablation procedure and then gone back to running? I would like to know if my experience is normal and what to expect in the future. Please let me know on the form below.
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